Pineapple cultivators of Sri Lanka express concern

By Gamini Senadeera (Daily Mirror)

(February 26, 2010) Pineapple cultivators in the Gampaha District expressed concern about the heavy losses incurred by them due to the increasing production costs and for want of a profitable market for their produce.

They pointed out that the increasing prices of fertilizer and agro chemicals seriously affected them. A pineapple cultivator of Rathupaswala, Wimal Wickramarachchi stressed the need to provide a fertiliser subsidy to the pineapple cultivators as in the case of paddy cultivators. “I took to pineapple cultivation a few years ago in a small scale.

Today I have 50 acres of pineapple cultivation at Giriulla, 40 acres at Katupotha and 15 acres at Ganemulla. However, I am facing hardship for want of a market for our produce. The sharp decline of prices causes us heavy losses during the harvesting season. The government or the private sector must introduce pineapple based industries to provide a market for the produce.

The small scale cultivators should receive a fertiliser subsidy from the government. It is sad that we have been left to the mercy of the middleman.”

Meanwhile, the traders pointed out that it was with great difficulty that they earned a marginal profit from pineapple cultivation.

“We do not have storage facilities to preserve pineapple for a long time. Unless we dispose of our stock in a couple of days, we would be compelled to discard a large parentage of it as rotten fruits. Our customers are mostly ordinary consumers,” one of the traders said.

The pineapple cultivators requested the government to look into their predicament and provide them adequate facilities.

Posted in Gampaha , pineapple cultivation , Sri Lanka